Possible flatworms??

[mhurley]

I just noticed today on my orange monti cap that there are a bunch of very very small grey dots on it. They are too small for me to even make out a shape of the animal, simply that I see spots on top of the orange coral. Here's the best picture I was able to snap. Notice the brown/grey dots in the center.

http://home.comcast.net/~michael.hurley/capsmall.jpg


I have searched my tank high and low, refugiums, other monti caps, all other SPS...I don't see these things anywhere else but on this one coral. I pulled him out and was able to use a syringe needle and brush off one of the "dots", so it does appear to be something alive and attached.

Questions:
Based on this limited information, can you even speculate as to if these are flatworms?
Any idea if they are predatory?
Since it's on this one coral (at least to my naked eye), can I dip this one piece rather than treat the entire tank with something like Flatworm Exit?

I've done searches on planaria and looked for pictures on this site to compare to by my searches came up empty. I'm sure this has been discussed a million times so if you can point me towards some articles, that would be helpful.

Thanks Doc!

Mike

[rshimek]

Originally posted by mhurley

Hi Mike,

Based on this limited information, can you even speculate as to if these are flatworms?

I really can't tell what they are. I simply can't see them clearly enough from your image. They could well be flatworms. Two things you might try...

First, see if they move. Then, use a turkey baster and try to blow them off. If they move and can be blown off, they probably are flatworms.

Finally, if you can blow some off and recapture them, you could send them to me, and I could confirm what they are.

Any idea if they are predatory?

If they stay on one coral, it is a pretty good bet that they are predatory.

Since it's on this one coral (at least to my naked eye), can I dip this one piece rather than treat the entire tank with something like Flatworm Exit?

That is worth a try, however, there may be some wandering around in your tank and, if so, they will make it back to the coral eventually.

[mhurley]

Thanks Ron,

If you're curious, I hopped on another thread and posted some better macro shots.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=281961&perpage=&pagenumber=2

Mike